January 26, 2006

It is unfortunate the Palestinian people chose war...but, that is what they have done...

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 26, 2006 (The Canadian Press delivered by Newstex) -- The Islamic militant group Hamas captured a large majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, officials in Hamas and the ruling Fatah Party said Thursday - a devastating upset that is sure to throw Mideast peacemaking into turmoil.

That is the facts...but, as Capt Ed puts it...we should be doing much more...

The first item on our list should be an absolute end to all aid to the Palestinian territories and government. The US should not subsidize Hamas, nor should it give money to a people whose only aim appears to be genocide. Second, the US should allow Israel to respond militarily to any and all provocations -- no more pressure from Washington on Tel Aviv to moderate their responses to suicide bombings and missile attacks. And if Hamas and the Palestinians still want to wage war after that, then let the IDF roll across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and push the whole lot of them right into the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea. That's what total war means, and as soon as the world stops preventing the Palestinians from the risks of their own choices, the sooner they will conclude that war is the worst possible choice for them.

If you know the history of the Great Wall, it was highly successful in keeping out animals. But invading armies just bribed the guards and walked through the gate. I’m guessing that your smarter animals, say porpoises, could have found a way in also. But porpoises had no interest in conquering China, so we’ll never know. Something tells me that blocking all the unacceptable content on the Internet will be about as effective as the Great Wall.

UPDATE: Stephen over at Vodkapundit has a great piece about this whole thing...

We take Google for granted, but we shouldn't. For those lucky enough to live in the US, Google has given has a virtual research library – for free. I'm a better thinker, a sharper writer, and a richer individual thanks to Google.

And what will Google do for China? The answer is: Less than it's done for us.

January 24, 2006

In Quebec, it was about stealing $100 million in public funds - to be used as a war chest against the province's most popular federal party. Unsurprisingly, their level of outrage far surpassed the rest of the country's. The Liberal Party dropped like a stone to 3rd place in the provincial popular vote (20%) and 13 seats, while the Conservative Party got 25% support and won 10 seats. The scandal also cost the Liberals hard in Ontario, where they lost 20 seats (15 went to Conservatives, 5 to the NDP socialists). Those were the big electoral shifts.

Now its time for the new leadership to put up or get out.

As a side note...I noticed on my broadcasts of BBC World, there was nary a comment on the Canadian elections or the Portugal elections...both of which elected conservative governments. Couple this with Germany's recent shift to the right and you can see the trend.

So...now that we have all of that out of the way...let's have a beer, eh?!

Bottom line, whoever wins the election, it would be nice if they could bring their country back a bit with the USA in terms of relations. The one country in the world in which Americans have the MOST in common with...they hate us...boo us...slander our national anthem. There is much work to be done to heal the rift...lets hope the tories can succeed.

January 22, 2006

Shaun Alexander came back from last week's concussion to rush for a team playoff-record 132 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and Seattle pressured Carolina stars Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith into oblivion in a 34-14 rout for the NFC championship.